Reader asks about Emory Douglas’ Panther posters

Each Friday, I answer readers’ questions about items they own, helping them with the research on the history and directing them to resources to determine value.

This week I’m focusing on one question – about the works of the man who helped create the image of the Black Panthers on paper.

Question:

I have some historical original newspaper posters by Emory Douglas that were saved for 40 years. We just saved the posters, not the entire paper. They are in excellent condition. Please see photos, and would they be an appropriate item for auction. I have attempted to purchase one online and cannot find any of the like. Please advise.

An up-close view of one of the Emory Douglas posters owned by the reader.

Answer:

Yes, your Emory Douglas posters would be a good choice for auction. Several of them have been sold at Swann Auction Galleries’ African American manuscript auction. Some of the vintage Black Panthers’ memorabilia have sold for way more than the estimated value (Huey P. Newtonin the wicker chair sold for $16,000 in March 2011 and a restored poster sold for $2,200 a year later).

In March 2011, a circa 1970 “Free Bobby, Free Ericka, Free Ruchell Magee, Free Angela, Free Kathleen, and All Political Prisoners” sold at Swann for $7,000.

A full view of the Emory Douglas poster, whose inscription extols the power of the gun to eradicate police brutality.

Douglas started out as an artistfor the Black Panther Party newspaper and became its minister of culture in 1967, a year after it was founded by Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, CA. Considered a revolutionary artist, he created the visual imagery of the party’s message of protest and defiance through its leaders and the community it fought for.

His graphic in-your-face finger-pointing designs were featured on posters and printed in the newspaper, which he designed and directed until it closed down in the 1ate 1970s.

“When the Black Panthers started the newspaper the whole idea was to have lots of pictures and art because a segment of the African American community wasn’t a reading community. But they could see the pictures, or they might understand the captions and get the gist of what was going on. That stayed in my mind,” Douglas is quoted as saying in a 2007 exhibit – “The Visual Rage of Emory Douglas” – at the Museum of Contemporary ArtPacific Design Center in Los Angeles. “People used to say that my artwork kind of cut to the chase, so they would get the message right there. We were trying to give the paper a certain feel.”

A print like the one below was included in the 2007 exhibit, with Douglas explaining his style in creating it: “I used to do posters with ink, markers, and those kinds of materials. I would use ball point pens and develop that style. That came from trying to expedite things. I liked woodcuts but I didn’t want to take all that time to do woodcuts, so I developed a bold style,” he said.

This is one of the Emory Douglas posters owned by the reader.

As for selling your posters, Swann is a good place to start since it has a track record for sales of Douglas and other Panther posters. Wyatt H. Day coordinates the auction. You could also look for a major auction house in your city or town that handles high-end sales. Remember that auction houses charge a commission for selling your items.

Also keep in mind that items up for auction are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them at a given point in time (as in the second Newton poster). Douglas produced a lot of posters over that decade, some more desirable than others.

In researching, I found that Douglas had teamed up in the past few years with several print-makers to reproduce some of his Panther newspaper posters as silkscreens or seriagraphs in limited editions – some selling as low as $50. I found on eBay two of those reprints that had sold for $100 and $200, and a Panther newspaper with a Douglas print for $139.

They’re no match, though, for the originals that appeared in the actual newspaper. But it makes them affordable for people who are newly discovering Douglas or who may have thrown away their old Panther newspapers and posters years ago.

This "Free Bobby, Free Ericka" poster by Emory Douglas sold at auction last year for $7,000.

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Our houses are filled with memorabilia and artifacts that are part of our family's history and legacy. But far too often we don't know what we have or assume it's worth very little or nothing.

What valuable items are in your home or a family member's home?

I can show you what to look for, how to research its market value online, how to get it appraised by a licensed appraiser, and whether to keep it, donate it or sell it.

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About Sherry Howard

I started going to auctions to fuel my love for African American art – but at a bargain. I love the old masters: Lois Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Hughie Lee-Smith. I wanted to find their works and discover other veteran artists whose works may have been hiding in an attic or basement, and forgotten.

I’m a journalist by profession: I was a newspaper reporter and editor. Now, I’m taking what I did as a journalist – peeling back the covers of people’s lives and writing about what I found – and applying it to auctions. And I’m loving it.

Visit me often to see what I come up with. I would also like to share stories and photos of what you find and your collections. Click my Contact page.

What is my stuff worth?

Here are some tips for things you can do on your own to help determine what your items are worth:

First, try the web. Search for items similar to yours.
Go to the library or browse at a bookstore. Look through price and collector's guides pertaining to your item.
Get a free or reduced-price appraisal. Find local auction houses in your town and check their websites to see if they offer these quick appraisals. You can find auction houses near you via auctionzip.com.Pay for a real appraisal. This could be your last step or your first step (if you have an item that you already know is valuable).

You can get more detailed information on each of these tips in my blog post on the subject.